2. Multiple Users: Sharing Is Caring

If Apple wants to pitch the iPad as a replacement for a laptop, it needs to be able to support multiple users. This is another catch-up feature, as Android already supports user accounts.

Sharing your tablet is not the worst thing in the world. Sharing an iPad means banning someone to the browser for social media and email. It also means sharing cloud storage accounts. That can make it difficult to access files back on your personal Mac or iPhone.

On the other hand, Safari is one limited implimentation of “same app” multitasking. Imagine being able to split a couple of photos and compare which is the better one. Working with multiple spreadsheets and dynamically linking data would be significant for Excel or Numbers. This would allow power users for business apps to leave the laptop behind.

The drag and drop features in iOS 11 focus on files. Multipane mode should be a no-brainer to expand the way that single apps work. iOS 11 has closed a lot of the most prominent gaps in using the iPad to do work, and adding the ability to work with two documents in a single app would be a big help. Some apps have custom interfaces for single app multitasking, but the feature should be baked into default iOS multitasking.

4. Desktop Safari Mode: More Browser Power

According to benchmarks, iPad and iPhone performance is closing the gap with Macs. There isn’t much of a reason to continue getting a nerfed webpage just because you are on iOS. In most cases, you can fix this by using the Share menu to reload the page in desktop mode. (Tip: You can also hold the “Refresh” button.)

This switch, in most cases, provides a passable desktop browsing experience. However, scrolling limitations and odd behaviors prevent Desktop Mode from being desktop Safari. Typing a document in Grammarly or making a WordPress post reveals the limitations.

There are two ways to make this better. First, give us the full version of Safari on the iPad when loading Desktop Mode. This is a power user feature that isn’t going to be something that you enable by accident. It could mimic the mouse using a similar interface to the Magic Trackpad. Improved the support for web apps and large text fields wouldn’t hurt either.

Second, let the user lock the choice on a web page. Having to always go through the share sheet to reload in Desktop Mode is a waste of time.

Both of these features seem simple to enable. In the last few years, iOS and macOS have shared more of their codebase. On the other hand, Apple only releases Mac-like features in iOS after exhausting every other possible option. At this point, we might just be waiting for more web apps to support mobile browsers.

The iPhone and iPad need a dark mode that is universal. It could integrate with APIs, like the features that assist apps scaling to screen sizes. Older apps would stand out with their wrong color scheme, but it would be better than nothing.

However, Apple could still help out power users and enable a new feature for Siri: integrate Siri with Workflow, and let power users build their hooks into apps. Using Workflow means that you do not have confusing language for non-power users.

7. Better iPhone Keyboard Support: The Mini Tablet

Using the iPhone Plus as a mini tablet comes relatively close to the experience that you get on an iPad mini. You lose some screen real estate, but for reading or playing games, the screen size is a good compromise for portability.

For writing, the iPhone plus isn’t that bad either. You can pair a smaller Bluetooth keyboard that folds up. That combo is a pocketable experience for writing or taking notes. It is not the best for a longform project or editing, but you are not going to be doing that on an iPad mini either. The main issue is that the iPhone never turns off its onscreen keyboard.

Adding some rudimentary support for this would allow you to get a lot more done with just your iPhone. For most people, it would never be your only computer. Apple should embrace iPhone productivity beyond the touchscreen. This one is a long shot since Apple seems to be creating further separation between the iPhone and iPad.

Growing Pains

iPad users are always waiting on the promise of a laptop replacement. On the iPhone, it seems like there’s a long list of small quirks to smooth out. We could all use a bit more freedom to use our phones how we want.

What do you think iOS is still missing? Is there something on Android you want Apple to copy? Would you ditch your iPhone for Android? Let us know in the comments.

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Don Ebberts

October 27, 2017 at 11:08 pm

On the subject of multiple users, they need an owners account and a user account, where the owner can see everything the user is doing. The owner could be a parent or a business. The party that owns the device ends up being responsible for what happens on it, they should be able to monitor it.

Apple is so strict. They make it difficult to change the default app probably because they want you to use their own app and not Google's. On Android it is easy to change the default app. Another nice feature on Android that I don't know if iOS has is the ability to create another user such as for kids which also allows you to restrict the user to certain apps.

Michael didn't use a Mac when they were doomed, but he can code in Applescript. He has degrees in Computer Science and English; he's been writing about Mac, iOS, and video games for a while now; and he's been a daytime IT monkey for over a decade, specializing in scripting…